Peru Part 6
Street Kid Party in Iquitos
Probably one of the busiest and most meaningful nights we have on the tour is the party for the kids who live on the street. Some of these kids are homeless and live under the cardboard boxes of back alleys. Some are sent downtown to beg for money or food for their families who live in the poor neighborhoods. Either way they have a tough life.
For the street party we invited 40 kids divided between boys and girls, big and small. This year David and Debbie McFadden sponsored the party with money they raised from their business. Before the party David and Debby bought shirts, shorts, hats and sandals for the various size kids. One hour before the party was to begin we all walked the back streets of Iquitos and gave out invitations to the location of the secret party. We tried to match the size of the child to the size of clothing purchased. A restaurant had agreed to make a meal for each kid of 1/4 chicken, salad, fried bananas and drinks. Jordan Butturini donated two huge birthday cakes.
The party began at 7:00 PM and the doors of the secret restaurant were opened. Only kids with an invitation were allowed inside. The restaurant did a good job of having the food ready to serve. Member of our group were the ushers, and servers to keep everything on schedule. Considering most of the kids hadn’t eaten a full meal in weeks, they were very well behaved while sitting at the table. Most of them asked for a doggy bag to take half their food home to their family.
After dinner the kids lined up to receive their new clothes. Based on their size they got a new shirt and pants and some sandals. Some of them changed into their new clothes at the restaurant. They had entered the restaurant looking like rag muffins and the departed wearing shirts from Spider Man and Whiney the Pooh.
End part 6
Probably one of the busiest and most meaningful nights we have on the tour is the party for the kids who live on the street. Some of these kids are homeless and live under the cardboard boxes of back alleys. Some are sent downtown to beg for money or food for their families who live in the poor neighborhoods. Either way they have a tough life.
For the street party we invited 40 kids divided between boys and girls, big and small. This year David and Debbie McFadden sponsored the party with money they raised from their business. Before the party David and Debby bought shirts, shorts, hats and sandals for the various size kids. One hour before the party was to begin we all walked the back streets of Iquitos and gave out invitations to the location of the secret party. We tried to match the size of the child to the size of clothing purchased. A restaurant had agreed to make a meal for each kid of 1/4 chicken, salad, fried bananas and drinks. Jordan Butturini donated two huge birthday cakes.
The party began at 7:00 PM and the doors of the secret restaurant were opened. Only kids with an invitation were allowed inside. The restaurant did a good job of having the food ready to serve. Member of our group were the ushers, and servers to keep everything on schedule. Considering most of the kids hadn’t eaten a full meal in weeks, they were very well behaved while sitting at the table. Most of them asked for a doggy bag to take half their food home to their family.
After dinner the kids lined up to receive their new clothes. Based on their size they got a new shirt and pants and some sandals. Some of them changed into their new clothes at the restaurant. They had entered the restaurant looking like rag muffins and the departed wearing shirts from Spider Man and Whiney the Pooh.
End part 6
posted by Lon Haldeman at 6:30 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home